Curis Riddington has already conquered the Brunswick Street strip with his eco-friendly, reasonable priced café Slowpoke. Now, he’s planning on conquering the night. On Thursday and Friday nights, starting October 18, he’ll be lighting some candles and turning the small space of recycled woods into a casual restaurant serving a market-fresh weekly rotating menu. It’s like an Italian Osteria – you’ll just have to rock up and trust in the chef. They’ve got wine on offer too, so calm your jets, booze fans. Fitzroy.

We love the Duchess crew. We love their mod-Brit breakfasts and affection for all that is pig. We’re pretty into the dessert degustation evenings they’re doing on Mondays with the incredibly skilled Shaun Quade too, so you can bet your biscuit that we’ll be hitting them up for dinner. While there’s no doubting the technique and commitment to quality in their breakfasts and lunch, they’ve got a larger palette to work with at dinner, introducing sweet seared scallops, deboned pig trotters and sweet dishes of veal cheek Running Thursdays through Sunday, the café offers a fixed price four-course menu that speaks of their favour for fresh produce and all things beast. It seems that nothing goes to waste in England, innit? Spotswood.

This joint sums up one of the biggest and best shifts in food land this year – great hospitality professionals downsizing and opening small, focused operations. It’s great news for those who want fine-dining chefs making their eggs and a pint to go with ‘em. That’s what you’ll find here. Morning porridge gets an upgrade with milk jam (similar to South American caramel, dulce de leche) and pistachio crunch and come the evening, you can pair up you Red Duck brew with Korean fried chicken or wagyu salami at the bar or the likes of rose pink quail with a golden barley rubble followed by a bite of tempura pumpkin custard if you’re in for the long haul. Carlton North.

A master of delightfully strange brunches, Birdman Eating does more than put marmalade bacon on your french toast and appease killer hangovers. It makes them happen. It's a small plate pick and mix concept here, so you'll want to pair up your little dishes of braised octopus, and kipfler potatoes with a few refreshments, Spanish-style. Get a plate of Earl Grey-cured salmon gravlax, or braised oxtail croquettes and a Moritz beer and watch Gertrude Street slink into the night. Fitzroy.

The clean, wooden construction that is Backstreet Eating welcomes both early morning sausage muffin hunters and evening eaters alike. Start with a selection of house-cured charcuterie, then move on to a cut of the dry-aged, grass-fed, organic beef. These guys are fully licensed so a few afternoon wines can make it easy to glide from day to night. Fitzroy.